Spotlight: Snap!

The LGBT clubbing scene isn’t
exactly booming in Shanghai these
days. With Icon currently closed, the
only regular, explicitly queer-friendly
club option is Lucca. Thankfully a group of friends are doing something about it. Jacky Lok Hang Chan, Jeffrey Yu, Jing Shi and
Yelin Qiu have founded monthly
party Snap!, a
night for dressing
up, dancing and
not taking things
too seriously. And it’s
proving a hit.

‘It came from all four of
us thinking we want something
alternative that’s ultimately for
the gay audience but hopefully
attracting a crowd that just wants
fun, not something superficial or
pretentious,’ Chan told us.
Each night has a different theme
– ‘Asian Persuasion’, ‘Bye Felicia’,
and on our visit ‘Anonymous’, where
there are masks of all kinds, from
laboratory goggles to gas masks,
scattered around the room.

‘It’s a
reason for people to dress up’, Yu
says, ‘even if you don’t have the
time, because everyone is so busy in
this city, that’s why we have all these
things people can put on. It doesn’t
matter if you’ve come prepared
or not, and people seem to
like that.’

Shaanxi Bei Lu spot
Daliah is the current
home of Snap!, a
space that’s as fun
as the night itself
– you can take the
slide from the first floor
bathroom right
to the dance floor,
or chill out on a swing
if it’s getting too much.
But don’t think this is a
low-key affair – most nights the
place is going until 3am and packed
out by midnight. Parties are already starting to come about more than once a month, and don’t be surprised
to see more events at other
locations soon.